New Orleans Saints Win a Penalty-Filled Contest in Nashville

The New Orleans Saints took the field with a 4-7-1 record against the Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers. They had not beaten them since 1993.

To put it in perspective, the last time the Saints were victorious Jim Mora was coaching the team with Ricky Jackson, New Orleans’ only player enshrined in Canton, and Sam Mills roaming the field.

That all changed today when New Orleans defeated Tennessee 22-17 to capture their 10th win of the season and move that much closer to the NFC South title.

In a first half in which both teams combined for 15 penalties and 118 penalty yards, the Saints continually shot themselves in the foot with costly flags. A seven-yard reception by Jimmy Graham in the red zone, which would have given the Saints a golden opportunity for a touchdown, and a gorgeous 82-yard punt return for a touchdown were both called back because of penalties.

The Saints did not look comfortable for the majority of the first half, and failed to score a touchdown, even though they held the ball for nearly 19 minutes.  After a dropped pass by Lance Moore in the end zone with 22 seconds remaining, the Saints went into the locker room with a three-point lead.

When New Orleans came out for the second half, the defense stood tall on Tennessee’s opening drive, but the Saints offense could not take advantage, only increasing the lead to six points.

The Titans, however, did not squander their opportunity with the football. They took the lead late in the third quarter on a Jake Locker rushing touchdown, the first in his young career. The Titans lead was short lived, though, because Drew Brees connected with Marques Colston for a 35-yard touchdown pass (Brees extended his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 40).

The touchdown breathed life into the Saints sidelines and they never trailed the rest of the day. With two Brees-to-Colston touchdown connections in the fourth quarter, a magnificent tackle by Malcolm Jenkins on Chris Johnson in the open field and a Jo-Lonn Dunbar stop in the waning moments, the Saints were able to salvage a victory in Nashville.

It was a sloppy game from everyone involved, referees included, but the Saints made enough plays in the fourth quarter to win the game. The Saints may have been victorious today, but it does not take a football genius to figure out that the defense needs to shape up.